One has been jailed for plotting to kill his country’s leader, another narrowly escaped prison for bribing his government with £600million – and others survived involvement in one of sport’s biggest corruption scandals.

Yet these are just some of the International Olympic Committee members who can look forward to five-star treatment – including their own VIP traffic lanes – when coming to London this summer.

While football’s governing body Fifa now faces global scorn for corruption, the IOC is keen to be seen as cleaner than clean nowadays.

Ten members who took bribes to back Salt Lake City’s successful bid for the 2002 Winter Olympics were expelled and president Jacques Rogge has barred members from visiting candidate cities.

Of course, many IOC delegates have unblemished reputations, among them real royalty such as a Crown Prince, a Grand Duke and our own Princess Royal.

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But IOC membership confers prestige and privilege of its own.

IOC members, whether honorary or otherwise, receive reserved places at all Olympic events – and, according to the official Olympic charter, “take precedence” over local organising committee officials.

Honorary members will also be among those allowed into the VIP traffic lanes and are invited to offer advice to the president, only being barred from voting at IOC congresses.

Among these latter is Australian IOC member Phil Coles, who received holidays, ski lessons, equipment and Superbowl tickets from the Salt Lake bidders, as well as the promise: ‘Fresh snow will be ordered for your forthcoming visit.’

The IOC ordered him off the Sydney organising committee and the Australia Olympic Committee , yet he remains an honorary IOC member.

Nyangweso will not be in London – not because of any IOC sanction, merely his death in 2010.

But survivors include Panama’s Meliton Sanchez Rivas, who was reprimanded by the IOC and had 300 tickets confiscated by police after being accused of touting at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics – though denied any wrongdoing.

The IOC retained Lassana Palenfo, jailed for a year in 2001 for plotting to kill Ivory Coast leader Gen Robert Guei – though Mr Palenfo is now ‘merely’ an honorary member.

South Korean Samsung boss Lee Kun-hee is still on the IOC despite a suspended jail sentence in 1996 for being among a group bribing the country’s government with £600million.

He was given a seven-year sentence and $347million fine in 2008 for tax evasion and financial wrongdoing.

But he was pardoned by South Korea’s government expressly so he could continue to serving on the IOC, though he was given a five-year suspension from serving on specialist IOC commissions.

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Former French sports minister Guy Drut also remains, despite receiving a 15-month suspended jail sentence in 2005 over contractors’ kickbacks in Paris.

Drut won 110m hurdling gold at the 1976 Olympic, but IOC leaders must hope more recent sporting recruits help to restore the balance.